A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih questioned why registered workers had not received the full compensation, despite clear Supreme Court directives.
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NEW DELHI: On Thursday (5th Dec), the Supreme Court criticized Delhi Chief Secretary Dharmendra for failing to fully compensate construction workers affected by restrictions on construction activities imposed to address declining air quality in the national capital.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih questioned why registered workers had not received the full compensation, despite clear Supreme Court directives.
When the Chief Secretary requested 10 days to complete the payments, the Court responded sharply. “Why? When will you pay the balance? The workers were verified, which is why they received Rs2,000. Do you want them to starve? We are issuing a contempt notice immediately; this is unacceptable. India is a welfare state,”
Justice Oka stated.
The Court was reviewing measures to address the Delhi air pollution crisis, including monitoring actions by authorities in neighboring states to reduce stubble-burning incidents. Earlier, it had ordered strict enforcement of Stage IV measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
In a previous hearing, the Court had directed the Chief Secretaries of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan to attend via video conference due to the NCR states’ failure to compensate construction workers impacted by halted construction activities.
During the current session, tensions between the Delhi government and the Chief Secretary became apparent.
Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat, representing the Delhi government, reported that workers had received RS 2,000 each. He questioned the bureaucratic delay, noting that workers were owed an additional Rs 6,000 and pre-verification was unnecessary.
In contrast, Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy, representing the Chief Secretary, argued that the law required verification. Farasat disagreed, stating no such requirement existed.
The Court directly addressed the Chief Secretary, asking why the payments were delayed.
The Chief Secretary promised, “We will pay by tomorrow. The Rs 2,000 was for immediate relief.”
The Court questioned whether only 90,000 construction workers existed in Delhi. It asked if any steps had been taken to encourage workers to register on the official portal. When the Chief Secretary admitted that no public notices had been issued, the Court demanded to know the plan for compensating unregistered workers.
The Chief Secretary assured the Court that public notices would be issued and re-verification conducted. The Court warned that any false statements regarding worker numbers would have serious consequences.
In its order, the Court noted that Rs 2,000 had been distributed to 90,693 workers, and the remaining balance must be paid immediately. It criticized the Delhi government for not informing unregistered workers about their entitlement and directed meetings with labor unions to encourage registration.
Earlier this week, the Court noted that it would consider relaxing the GRAP-4 restrictions only after observing a sustained improvement in the Air Quality Index (AQI). The Court also called for the Chief Secretaries of the NCR States to appear virtually regarding the failure to provide subsistence allowance to laborers affected by the construction activity ban. Additionally, the Court expressed strong disapproval of Delhi Police’s failure to ensure the safety of Advocates appointed as Court Commissioners to oversee the enforcement of the truck entry ban into Delhi.
Case Title: MC Mehta v. Union of India
